Judas Priest’s Rob Halford Picks His 10 Favorite Metal Albums

Rob Halford may very well be the biggest metalhead on the planet. The Judas Priest frontman has kept his ear to the ground throughout the decades, keeping a watchful eye over the genre he helped define as one of the earliest bonafide heavy metal acts. The self-proclaimed Metal God has undoubtedly heard thousands of metal albums and when he spoke with Rolling Stone, he named his 10 favorites.

Regardless of how big your band is, getting your album named as a personal favorite of Halford's must induce goosebumps. The first album he selected was the Motorhead classic Ace of Spades, which he described as "a hardcore roar of wild bombastic f--k you!" The album was released the same year as Priest's British Steel, which was influenced by Motorhead's burgeoning sound.

Along with esteemed all-timers like Pantera's Cowboys From Hell, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Black Sabbath's chilling debut (which topped the list), Dio's Holy Diver and others were some selections that may surprise some metalheads. It's not just all earlier era classics as Halford named Slipknot's self-titled debut as his ninth favorite along with nu-metal innovators Korn's eponymous debut, which he said "brought a new definition of metal that was a game changer."

Over the years, Halford has expressed interest in starting a black metal project, so seeing Emperor's masterful sophomore effort Anthems to the Welkin at Duskin the eighth slot brought another fist-raising moment. "I love this because it's sonic blasphemy from the dark side," commented the singer.

See the full list below.

Priest have chosen to stay off the road in 2017, focusing on writing and recording their follow-up to 2014's Redeemer of Souls. In early June, we reported the group was "just about done" tracking their 18th studio album alongside classic producer Tom Allom as well as Andy Sneap and Mike Exeter.